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Cruise Strategy Company: Now is the time to sell river cruises

river cruise, river cruising, cruise, travel,

Stuart Perl and Philip Ordever, co-founders of The Cruise Strategy Company, an independent business created to help travel agents sell more cruise holidays, explain why now is the right time to focus on river cruise sales.

Since July last year, a handful of river cruise lines, such as A-Rosa, CroisiEurope, Nicko Cruises and VIVA Cruises, returned to service, deploying reduced fleets to resume itineraries on the Rhine, Danube, Dutch & Belgium Waterways, the Douro and the French rivers. However, due to the less restrictive rules concerning the movement of nationals within Europe, passengers have in the main originated from those domestic markets.

We have seen and heard from both operators and consumers that with the reduced number of passengers on board and the strict management of the new health and safety protocols, the resumption of operations has been a welcome and successful first step back for the river cruise sector. This stands us in good stead for the start of the 2021 river cruise season in March.

With the majority of cancelled 2020 river cruise bookings transferring to 2021, plus the reduction in ship capacity, it may look as though there is limited opportunity to book.

However, in our view this may not be the case. Historically, more than 80 per cent of river cruise passengers have been sourced from the US and come the start of the season, who knows what American travel restrictions and consumer confidence to long-haul travel will be? Availability will most likely increase.

Opportunity knocks

Given that river cruising has made a quicker return to operations than ocean, and with evidence that passengers will have a stronger tendency towards booking on smaller ships, we expect to see more ocean cruisers becoming first-time river cruisers. And herein lies the opportunity for agents.

As a nation of holidaymakers desperate to travel abroad again in a safe environment, a river voyage in Europe is easily accessible on a short flight or even by car and train [once restrictions are lifted]. And with river cruise protocols already successfully tried and tested, now is the time to start encouraging clients to book for next season or beyond.

Now is the time to get ahead of the game and start learning river cruise. Understand the river lines – the experience they deliver on board and ashore, their value proposition, the varied itineraries and durations, and their book with confidence terms and conditions.

With this full armoury of knowledge, it is possible to convince clients to take their next holiday on a European river cruise.

For those yet to personally experience or sell a river cruise, this may all sound a little daunting. But with some dedicated training, a good understanding of the database and a smart marketing approach, it’s much easier than many think.

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